Nothing Will Tear Us Apart
by rentchica10
Summary: Another Sawyer and Juliet fic about the three missing years on the island...everyone has baggage and scars, but sometimes they're necessary to get you to the person you're meant to end up with. Occasionally slightly AU.
1. Dancing in the Moonlight

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Lost or any of its characters; they belong to ABC and Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. Also, I don't own the song "Dancing in the Moonlight;" it belongs to the band King Harvest, or the song that inspired the title of the whole story, "Nothing Will Tear Us Apart," which belongs to Adam Pascal and Larry Edoff.

"Damn, Blondie, you sure clean up nice," Sawyer drawled as Juliet walked out of the bathroom in their little house in Dharmaville. Her hair was swept up in a French twist, she wore a pale pink lip gloss and the slightest hint of mascara, and she had on a pale blue halter-neck dress that perfectly matched the color of her eyes.

"If I didn't know any better, James, I'd think you actually gave me a compliment," she replied smoothly, but with a slight twinkle in her eyes. Sawyer pretended to look offended, but he secretly (or not-so-secretly, depending on whom one asked) enjoyed the easy chemistry the two of them shared.

"Don't go gettin' a big head, now, I'm just being honest."

"Well, then, you look very nice as well." Sawyer, dressed in a borrowed black suit and a navy blue button-down shirt, offered Juliet his arm, playing the part of the Southern gentleman he could have been to a T. She smiled, linking her arm with his and melting his heart at the same time. The two of them walked outside toward what was usually the Dharma mess hall. Today, however, it had been turned into a beautiful mock chapel and reception center, since Sandra and Joseph were getting married. Sandra worked as a nurse in the infirmary, and Joe was the assistant head cook for the Initiative.

As they were about to enter the hall, they ran into Miles, Jin, and Daniel, who happened to be back on the island from Ann Arbor at the moment. All of them except for Jin looked rather uncomfortable in their dress clothes, and both Sawyer and Juliet stifled back laughs.

"C'mon, A-Team, let's head inside," Sawyer said, nodding toward the door. After the three other guys had gone in, he stepped aside, holding the door open for Juliet.

"Some guys just don't know how to treat a lady," he said, shaking his head and grinning at her. She smiled back wryly and followed the rest of the group to their seats. Although she too appreciated the ease with which the two of them could do just about anything together, she still wasn't entirely sure where they stood. Sometimes he could be so irritating she would threaten to get on the next sub and leave for good, but other times, like today, he was so sweet she wondered if he had more than just friendly feelings toward her. And usually it fluctuated back and forth between the two extremes in a matter of minutes!

"I guess it's all just part of his charm," she though to herself. As the five of them found seats, however, and the music began to play to signal the beginning of the ceremony, she found herself leaning more and more toward the "more than friendly feelings" theory. When they stood up to watch Sandra enter in her simple strapless white dress, his hand brushed conspicuously against hers, and the spark between the two of them could have lit the entire room.

Which meant, of course, that Sawyer could feel it too. After everything that had happened with Cassidy, and then Kate, he was hesitant to let himself fall for anyone again, let alone actually get involved with someone new. But there was something different about Juliet – for one thing, she tolerated his screw-ups in a way that made him want to work at being a better person without feeling like he was being judged or pitied.

On the other hand, what worried Juliet were not her past relationship failures, although she certainly didn't want to repeat what had happened with her ex-husband. No, what she feared was much deeper and darker, and made her wonder if she was ever even going to be capable of loving someone again. But, as this was a wedding, she tried to push those thoughts from her head at least for the duration of the ceremony.

After the actual wedding was done, they moved through the temporary walls to the other half of the building to the "reception hall," where they had a beautiful meal, catered by all of Joe's coworkers, of salad, steak, mashed potatoes, and chocolate-and-white marble wedding cake. Upon finishing her dessert, Juliet began to hear the strains of the deejay coming from the lawn just outside the hall. Against her better judgment, she looked over at Sawyer, extended her hand, and asked,

"Dance with me?"

"Uh, I don't really dance, Goldilocks," Sawyer replied with his typical swagger.

"What, is big bad Sawyer afraid of a little old dance floor," she retorted, as usual, breaking through his bravado in one fell swoop. At that, he began to hear chicken noises from across the table.

"Bawk, bawk, bawk," Miles clucked at him.

"Fine," he said as he stood up abruptly, "but only for you, Juliet." They walked out the glass doors and onto the newly created dance floor just as the strains of "Dancing in the Moonlight" filled the evening island air. For as awkward as he had felt just a few moments ago, Sawyer's hands seemed to know exactly where to go to hold Juliet close to him as they began to sway back and forth to the rhythms.

_We like our fun and we never fight_

_You can't dance and stay uptight_

_It's a supernatural delight_

_Everybody was dancing in the moonlight_

Meanwhile, Juliet was still focused on Sawyer's last words. What did he mean, "only for me," she thought? She considered asking him, but decided that would ruin the moment they were having – and it was a very good moment. However, it all soon became a moot point as a slow song that neither of them recognized came on, and they disappeared into their own little world. The lights hanging up around the edge of the dance area created the perfect atmosphere for something to happen, and the fates did not disappoint.

For the first time in a very long time, Sawyer felt like, just for a few minutes, he might be able to let down his guard and allow someone to see past the angry, gruff image he projected to keep his vulnerable 8-year old self at bay.

"Juliet," he managed to choke out before his brain caught up with his heart, and she looked up at him with those eyes that seemed to pierce right through to his soul. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the situation), Sawyer had never been a big talker. So in that moment, he did the only thing he could think of – he leaned in and kissed her. It was slow at first, almost hesitant, as though he was afraid she might get angry and pull away. But she didn't, and instead deepened the kiss, pulling him back into a dark corner of the night were she hoped no one would see them making out like love-struck adolescents. It was several minutes before either of them needed to come up for air.

"I'm – " Sawyer started to say.

"Please don't end that sentence with 'sorry,' James," Juliet pleaded. He looked at her again, unable to figure out exactly what she was afraid of, but hoping like hell that he could make it better.

"Do you wanna go back to the house?" he asked softly.

"What about the others?"

"They're big boys, they'll figure out how to get back on their own." With that, Sawyer entwined his fingers with Juliet's, and they quickly walked, then ran, back to their house, scared that they might lose the courage they had both recently gained.

As they reached the entrance, Sawyer threw open the door, pulled Juliet inside, and pushed her up against the closest wall he could find, which happened to be the one separating their kitchen from their living room. He ran his hands down her arms, staring at her for a moment before she began kissing him just as passionately as she had a few minutes ago. Slowly, his lips broke away and he began kissing and nibbling his way down her neck to her collarbone, and back up again. Without stopping, he pushed her gently towards her bedroom (only because its doorway happened to come before his) and onto her bed. As he laid down on top of her, his hands around her back beginning to unzip her dress, he noticed something strange – she was shuddering below him, and not in a good way.

"Juliet? What's wrong? Did I do something?" Sawyer asked as he pulled himself up to a sitting position on the edge of her cream-colored comforter.

"No, it's not you, it's – I'm sorry, I thought I could do this, but I can't," Juliet stammered as she started to stand up and leave.

"Whoa, whoa. Not so fast, there," Sawyer said, putting an arm out to stop her and pull her back down on the bed. "We don't have to have sex tonight, ya know. That's not," he stopped for a moment, trying to put together words that he'd said before, but never really meant until now, "why I – I care about you, Juliet. I wanna be with you…if, if you wanna be with me."

Juliet sat in silence for a moment, still shaking, her head staring down at the carpet. Suddenly Sawyer realized that there were tears streaming down her face.

"Hey," he said quietly, "What's that for?"

"You don't want to know," she replied in the faintest of whispers. Sawyer sighed, hoping he wouldn't regret his next words.

"Yes, I do."

"No, James, you really don't. Just go back to your room, let me sleep this off, and tomorrow we'll wake up and go back to the way things were."

"Uh-uh, Blondie, that's not how this is gonna work. You gotta let somebody inside all those damn walls you built up."

"Why? I was doing just fine before tonight," Juliet retorted.

"Look, even if it ain't me, you're gonna wanna be with somebody again sometime. Wouldn't you rather get all the bad stuff out with me?"

At that, Juliet offered up just the slightest smile.

"No, because if I can't have you as a lover, I at least need you as a friend. You're the only thing keeping me sane on this island. And you'll run away if you hear what's wrong with me. At least this way I get to keep the memory of the way your kisses and your arms around me make me feel." Sawyer's mind reeled at what she had just said.

"Look at me," he said, taking her face in his hands, "I'm done runnin'. And there is nothin' wrong with you. The only thing wrong here is whatever somebody did to you that makes you hurt so bad. Do you hear me? Whatever it is, it ain't your fault."

"They raped me," Juliet began, sobbing even harder, "every night, for weeks. Because I wouldn't do what they said. Because I tried to get off the island. Because I tried to help –" at this, her she stopped and fell forward into Sawyer's arms. His heart nearly broke, not just because of what she said, but because he realized that part of it was because she tried to help him, Kate, and Jack.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," he repeated over and over again, hoping to make some sort of amends for the role he had in this.

"No, James, it's not your fault. It's just – being back here, in a bed, with a man – I haven't been with anyone since before," she paused, looking up at him.

"Hey, I told you, I'm not just in this for sex. Whatever you need."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Juliet asked suspiciously. "You've been weirdly nice all day."

"What, a guy can't change?" Sawyer said, mildly offended.

"Unfortunately, not in my experience."

"Well, maybe you make me want to be a nicer person," he pointed out, "but don't worry, I won't stop makin' fun of everyone and sayin' stupid shit all the time. I'm not that nice."

Juliet laughed for the first time that night, and found herself being pulled into Sawyer's arms once again, one of his hands in her hair, drawing her head to his shoulder, and the other around her back, moving gently up and down.

"Look, I got plenty of baggage and scars myself. This ain't gonna scare me away," he breathed into her ear.

"Good," she replied, "because you make me want to trust people again. That's something that hasn't happened since before I came to the island." They sat in silence for a few more minutes, just appreciating each other's company.

"You ready to go to bed?" Sawyer finally asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Juliet replied, yawning.

"Hold on just a sec. I'll be right back." Juliet quickly changed into her pajamas and was getting under the covers when Sawyer came back into the room, dragging the big armchair from their living room.

"What are you doing?" she asked incredulously.

"I didn't think you'd be ready to have a guy in your bed, but I didn't wanna leave you alone tonight," he replied matter-of-factly.

"James, you didn't have to do that," she began to protest. But he clearly wasn't hearing any of it. "Thank you," she said softly.

"You're welcome, Juliet." And with that, they both curled up and went to bed. But before they fell asleep, Juliet reached over and grabbed Sawyer's hand, fully intending to hold onto it all night long.

**A/N**: So, I realized the tone of this chapter changes dramatically about halfway through, but I didn't want to mislead anyone by having the first chapter be all light and happy and then going all dark and twisty in the next one. Most chapters will be more of an integrated mix of multiple moods/tones.

I hope you enjoyed, and please let me know any and all suggestions/constructive criticism that you have. I'll try to update the story at least once a week.


	2. Sweet Baby JamesFire and Rain

**Disclaimer:** The songs used for the title and in the chapter, "Sweet Baby James" and "Fire and Rain" belong to James Taylor, and Sawyer, Juliet, and all other characters mentioned here belong to Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof.

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed – if I haven't responded to you, I will soon! Also, thanks to tia8206 for reminding me that Tom is gay, as I probably would have forgotten that.

Around 9:00 the next morning, Juliet woke up from one of the calmest nights of sleep she had had in a very long time. Stretching her arms to the ceiling, she began to roll out of bed and start her day. But when she glanced over at the chair, she realized Sawyer was no longer in it. Trying not to let her typical panic and insecurities creep back up, she called out for him.

"James," she said, "Where'd you go?"

"I'm right here Blondie, don't you worry," he replied, walking back into the room with his characteristic smirk on his face.

"I wasn't worried, I was just," she started to stay as Sawyer leaned in and kissed her tenderly. A smile lit up her face as she asked,

"What was that for?"

"You seemed tense, and it seemed like a good way to relax you," Sawyer replied and shrugged.

"Thank you," Juliet said quietly, "I don't have a lot of experience with guys sticking around."

"Where exactly is it you think I'm goin', dear?"

"I've seen the way the women around here look at you. You could have any of them you wanted."

"Yeah, but I don't want them. I wanna be right here," Sawyer said firmly. "Look, I don't have to go into work until noon today, so why don't I fix ya some breakfast and we'll just hang out here for a while."

"And by fix us some breakfast, you mean…" Juliet said, grinning.

"I mean put cereal and milk in a bowl, all right? Gimme a break, will ya?" Sawyer replied, pretending to look exasperated. However, as they sat down at their kitchen table, he was secretly excited to be with someone he wasn't conning, or playing games with, or otherwise manipulating.

A few hours later, after they had finished breakfast, gotten dressed, and settled down on the couch to read together, they heard the alarm go off – but a different alarm than the one for a Hostile intrusion. Sawyer immediately got on his walkie to Horace to figure out what was going on.

"Horace, this is Jim. What's this alarm mean? Do I need to get out to the perimeter?"

"No, no, stay in your house. I forgot you wouldn't have heard this before – there's a bad weather system coming through, and it's best if everyone stays where they are," Horace's voice crackled through.

"Thanks, man, I'll see you later. Keep safe." At that, he turned to Juliet and smiled. "Looks like we've got ourselves a while longer together. You alright with that, Blondie?"

"Yeah, that would be really nice," Juliet replied sincerely.

"Well alright then," Sawyer replied as he walked over to the cabinet at the end of their living room.

"What are you doing, James?" she asked, puzzled.

"If it's gonna be stormin' outside all day, seems to me we're gonna need some good rainy day music," he said, pulling out the record player and a James Taylor album.

"'Sweet Baby James,' huh?" she replied.

"Yeah, my parents used to play it all the time, and since that song had my name in it, I always liked it, like it was meant for me. I know, stupid, right?" he said, shaking his head.

"It's not stupid, it's sweet. I'm glad you can still listen to it."

"I haven't, before now. I guess I feel safer with you here and all, since you got my back." The two of them shared a knowing look as they sat back down together, Sawyer sitting lengthways on the couch with Juliet sitting in between his legs and leaned up against him.

_He sings out a song which is soft but it's clear_

_Just as if maybe someone could hear_

_He says goodnight all you moonlight ladies_

_Rock-a-bye sweet baby James_

_Deep greens and blues_

_Are the colors I choose_

_Won't you let me go down in my dreams_

_And rock-a-bye sweet baby James_

As the rest of the album played on, Sawyer asked the question he'd been thinking about all morning but had been afraid to ask.

"Juliet, do you wanna talk about what happened to you?" he said softly. She twisted her head around to look at him and bit her lip, looking straight into his eyes. "You don't hafta, I just thought I'd ask."

"No, I do want to. I haven't ever told anyone before, though, so it might take awhile."

"We've got all day, Juliet. Take however long ya need." The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, then Juliet began.

"It started after I had begun to want to go home. I had been here for six months, and my sister was about to have her baby. Ben kept telling me I wasn't allowed to leave, that he would cure my sister forever if I stayed, and any other excuse he could think of. After a couple of months of this back and forth I decided that I had had enough, and I tried to stow away on the next submarine. Obviously, that didn't work out quite as well as I had hoped," Juliet said with a bitter laugh. Sawyer pulled her closer and kissed her shoulder, knowing she wasn't yet ready to look at him while she told this story. She took a deep breath and began again.

"They found me, dragged me back to my house, posted Tom outside as a guard, and told me I was under house arrest until further notice." At this, Juliet's normally steely exterior shattered, as she started to shake and cry. "They would come in every night, first a random one, Pickett, Ethan, Mikhail…and then Ben would come, and it would be worse. He told me he was punishing me for having slept with other men, that I was 'his.' It was every night for two weeks. I was so sore and bruised…" she trailed off. "And then I had to go back to work, and see these men every day, and pretend like nothing had happened. It stopped for a while, but any time I did anything they thought was even slightly wrong, it would happen again." Sawyer's heart felt like it was going to break in half. He gently twisted her around so she was facing him, and asked chokingly,

"Why did you help us? You knew what would happen to you – why did you care about us?"

"Because I could," she answered simply. "I couldn't change what was happening to me, but I could stop terrible things from happening to you. It made me feel like I wasn't a total failure here."

Sawyer pulled Juliet into him as she laid her head on his shoulder. They sat this way in silence for a few minutes before they realized that the first side of the record was over. Sawyer kissed Juliet's forehead and briefly untangled himself from her as he went to flip it over. He squeezed in behind her again as the first strains of music began to play.

_Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone_

_Suzanne the plans they made put an end to you_

_Walked out this morning and I wrote down this song_

_I just can't remember who to send it to_

_I've seen fire and I've seen rain_

_I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end_

_I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend_

_But I always thought that I'd see you again_

"Ooh, this is my favorite James Taylor song," Juliet said, smiling. Sawyer looked at her and raised his eyebrows in question.

"What, you're the only one who's allowed to like 70's music?"

"No, I guess not," he replied, chuckling.

"I used to listen to it after my parents got divorced, hoping it meant that things would be better someday."

"What can I do?" Sawyer asked abruptly.

"About my parents' divorce?"

"No, about all the stuff you just told me about. What can I do to help things get better again for you?"

Juliet thought for a moment about that.

"Honestly, James, I don't know. There's no justice system on the island, or at least not one that resembles anything from back home, and all of the people who did this are little kids now. I'm not sure there's anything you can do."

"Listen, Goldilocks, if anybody knows how to get revenge in an impossible situation, it's me. But we'll worry about that part later."

"Okay, I'll bite. What part are we worrying about now?"

"The part where we get you to trust me," Sawyer said as he leaned around and kissed her lips softly. She kissed him back more deeply, running her fingers through his hair and down his back. He pulled her down on top of him, kissed up her jawline to her ear, and whispered, "I will never do anything to hurt you, Juliet. I swear."

They lay there for the rest of the afternoon, quietly talking about their lives and passionately kissing, as the rain fell down all around them.


	3. Time in a Bottle

Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or its characters; they are owned by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. "Time in a Bottle" belongs to Jim Croce.

A/N: Thanks so much again to everyone who reviewed! If you think there's anything I need to work on, I always appreciate constructive criticism and/or questions and things that need to be clarified. Also, if I didn't mention it before, I'm envisioning this story to be taking place sometime during the summer of 1975, and all the song references are historically possible.

About a week later…

"I need you to push me," Juliet said as she walked into the kitchen on Saturday morning.

"Excuse me, Blondie?" Sawyer looked up from his cereal, startled.

"We're not going anywhere in this relationship, James. Physically," she added when he looked confused.

"Juliet, I told you I'm okay with that."

"But I'm not," she interrupted.

"Okay, ya lost me somewhere back there. What?"

Juliet walked over to the table and sat down across from Sawyer, trying to figure out the right words to say how she felt without offending him, which was sometimes difficult. Although, she thought, he probably felt the same way about her at times.

"I appreciate, more than you know, how patient you've been with me. But I don't know how to get my body to trust you as much as my mind does without you pushing it."

"Uh-uh," Sawyer responded, shaking his head vigorously, "I told you I would never hurt you and I meant that. No way am I gonna push you to where you start shakin' and feelin' uncomfortable again. I can't…I can't treat you like one of my cons." Sawyer's voice dropped down low as he said those last words. Being with Juliet only made him more ashamed of his past self than he already had been.

"James," she said softly, reaching across the table to take his hands in her own, "I know you won't treat me like one of your cons, because you're not that person anymore. You're not making me do anything I don't want to do."

"How can you say that? Do ya not remember what happened the last time?" he said angrily, standing up and pulling his hands away. He began to pace around their small kitchen and living room, his hands balled into fists and his long hair only partially hiding his very red face.

"Hey," Juliet said, quickly walking over to him and taking his face in her hands, "look at me. Why are you so upset?" Sawyer slowly looked into her clear blue eyes, which, surprisingly to him, held no trace of anger or accusation, only concern.

"You don't understand, Juliet. I could do this, I could trick you into doin' things you don't really wanna do – I've done it before, plenty a' times. You think I'm not that guy anymore, but if I do this, I will be. I ain't gonna let that happen with you. You deserve better," he replied agonizingly, walking away from her across the room.

"Well, I can't be the girl I used to be either! That girl was scared, and submissive, and beaten down. I can't let the way everyone else treated me affect my relationship with you, James."

Sawyer slowly unballed his hands and turned around to face her again.

"But what if I start to treat you like them too? I've done a lot of messed-up shit in my life, but hurting you…that would be so much worse."

In no time, Juliet crossed the living room to Sawyer. She put her hands on either side of his face again and lifted it up until he was looking her in the eyes. The sorrow, fear, and shame in his deep brown ones almost undid her.

"The fact that you're concerned about hurting me already makes you a hundred times better than all of those other guys," she said as she stared into his eyes, silently willing him to believe her.

"Look," she continued, "neither of us have had a functional relationship in a very long time, so we're going to have to learn to trust ourselves and each other. We can do this together, I promise."

"Live together, die alone, huh?" Sawyer asked wryly, remembering Jack's speech from right after they had crashed on the island.

"Yeah, I guess…" Juliet said, nodding but confused.  
"Oh right, you weren't there yet for the Doc's speech. Sometimes I forget ya haven't always been with us."

"If I'd known the kind of community you guys had, trust me, I'd have been there a lot sooner."

"Oh, so ya like our gang, not me in particular?" Sawyer teased.

"I wouldn't have wanted to meet you then, because we wouldn't have what we have now."

"How very philosophical of you," he replied sarcastically.

"How about you shut up and kiss me?" she countered.

"Your wish is my command, Goldilocks," he said as he ran his fingers through her long blonde hair and pulled her head in toward him and her lips into a deep, passionate kiss that lasted for several minutes before they came up for air. He paused for just a moment, looking into her eyes to make sure she still wanted this, then began to kiss down her neck and toward the first button of her shirt. He unbuttoned it slowly with a long kiss, then said,

"I love you for believing in me." His rough hands moved slowly down to the next button, unbuttoning it and kissing her as before.

"I love you for being brave." He continued to do this all the way down her chest.

"I love you for how smart you are."

"I love you for being generous." As he reached the top of her stomach, he allowed his hands to touch her bare skin for a moment before continuing on.

"I love you for always wanting to help everyone around you even when they were terrible to you." At this, he stood up and pulled her shirt off her arms, taking a moment to drink in how beautiful she was, naked from the waist up but for a simple nude-colored bra. He ran his fingers up and down her back, pausing for a moment to brush them over the scar that was the only visible reminder of what those men had done to her. She gasped and began to stiffen up again

"Ssh, Juliet, it's okay. I won't hurt you," he said in a deep, soft voice. He continued to run his hands over it gently, and when she was still tense and shaky, he knelt down behind her and ran his lips across it, kissing all around it until he could feel her relax. When he stood back up she immediately kissed him again, unbuttoning his shirt as well and pulling them into her bedroom and onto the bed, Sawyer on top of her. If they didn't realize they had chemistry before, the feel of bare skin against bare skin certainly made them do so at that point. They lay there, kissing and exploring each other's bodies for what seemed like hours before Sawyer started to unbutton her jeans, pulling them slowly down her legs and kissing along her hip and thigh as he did so. He forced himself to go slowly, giving Juliet time to back out if she needed to.

"God, you're beautiful," he said as he looked up at her, lying on the bed in only her bra and underwear. Ever self-conscious, Juliet started to cover herself up with her arms.

"Hey, what's that for? I can't pay my woman a compliment?" Sawyer teased until he realized that tears were starting to fall from her eyes onto her cheeks.

"I'm not beautiful. I'm scarred and I'm flawed and – " Juliet started to say before Sawyer interrupted her with a kiss.

"Listen, Juliet, ya hear me? You are beautiful, and all those scars and flaws ya think make you ugly, they just make you even more beautiful. I am the luckiest guy in whatever the hell world we're in now, because I get to lay here next to ya."

"Why do you put up with all my insecurities, James?"

"Because you put up with all of mine. Now, are ya gonna let me make you happy, or what? 'Cause just so ya know, this ain't all about you."

"How could making me happy possibly not be all about me?"

"I need…" Sawyer started, unable to meet Juliet's eyes, "to prove that I can make a woman happy for sake, 'stead a'cause I was tryin' to con her."

"James, you don't have to prove anything to me."

"I need ta prove it to myself, then," he replied. Their eyes met briefly, each acknowledging what the other had said. At that, Sawyer pushed himself back down Juliet's body, slowly pulling her light purple cotton panties down her legs and tossing them in a pile with the rest of her clothes. He ran his fingers all around the edge of her wetness before quickly thrusting one inside of her.

"Oh!" she cried out in surprise.

"I'm not hurtin' you, am I?" Sawyer asked.

"No, no, it's just…been awhile since anyone's done that." He leaned up and kissed her stomach softly as he brought one, then two fingers in and out of her while circling his thumb around her clit. He moved his fingers faster and faster, paying attention to the specific movements that made her scream the loudest, until she finally orgasmed, collapsing with ecstatic exhaustion down into the mattress.

"I love you, James," she said as she pulled him up next to her.

"I love you too, Juliet," he replied, wrapping his arms around her and pulling the sheet up over them at the same time. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, and they lay there lazily for the rest of the day, realizing that for the first time, both of them were in a relationship where they were totally honest with the other person. As they held each other close, the sounds of Jim Croce singing floated through the open window above Juliet's bed.

_If I could save time in a bottle_

_The first thing that I'd like to do_

_Is to save every day 'til eternity passes away_

_Just to spend them with you_


End file.
